That name has haunted England’s cricketers day in and day out during this hot and rainy summer. And they aren’t likely to forget him in a hurry.

Australia’s ace batsman made a triumphant return to the Test arena after sitting out 18 months following that sandpaper scandal in South Africa. England may have wished that the ban had been extended, but no such luck.

The former Australian captain flogged England with his bat, and he was largely responsible that Australia will be returning home with the tiny urn containing the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

Australia manhandled England in the fourth Test at Manchester’s Old Trafford to go up 2-1 and seal victory with one match to go.

Australia won in Manchester by 185 runs after Smith hammered 211 in his side’s 497 for eight declared in the first innings, and then breezed to 82 in the second as Australia posted 186 for six. England managed 301 and 197.

Joe Root’s England can tie the series with victory at The Oval, but as defending champion the urn has safely been tucked away in the luggage waiting to be shipped Down Under.

The 30-year-old Smith was simply unstoppable. All England could do was stare in awe of this incredible run-scoring machine as he compiled an incredible 671 runs in only three Tests. He missed the third after being sidelined with a concussion after taking a hit to the helmet from a rising Jofra Archer bouncer in the second Test at Lord’s.

It is safe to say that without his commanding presence at the crease, the home team could have extended Australia’s losing Ashes record in England.

In the first Test, Smith saved Australia from disaster by slamming 144 in the first innings total of 284 and followed that up with 142 in the second. In the second at Lord’s, where he suffered the injury, he staved off a collapse and possibly a defeat to force a draw with a gutsy 92. He missed the next encounter at Headingley, where Ben Stokes smashed a brilliant unbeaten 135 for a nail-biting one-wicket win in one of the greatest comeback victories after England was dismissed for 67 in the first knock. Australia put the ghosts of Headingley to rest by bouncing back to win at Old Trafford.

So the difference in the series has been down to one man.

Of course, no Test match or series can be won without bowlers, and it was Australia’s superior quicks of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, and Mitchell Starc who deserve credit. For England, only Stuart Broad and Archer could rival their Aussie counterparts. Cummins was the pick of the fast bowlers with 24 wickets, and Hazlewood was next with 18.

AFGHANISTAN WINS TEST

Captain Rashid Khan took six wickets for 49 as Afghanistan hammered Bangladesh by 224 runs in Chittagong in the one-off Test.

Afghanistan, who only earned full member status in 2017, ran up its Test total to 2-0 after defeating fellow newcomer Ireland last March.

The charismatic Abdul Qadir, generally considered one of the finest leg-spinners of all time, passed away at the relatively young age of 63 of a heart attack in Lahore on the weekend. Thousands attended the funeral of the Pakistani spinner, who took 236 wickets in 67 Tests with his best return being nine for 56 against England in 1987.

GREAT MALINGA STRIKES

There’s just no stopping that bushy-haired 36-year-old fast bowler from Sri Lanka.

For the second time in his international career, Lasith Malinga captured four wickets off four balls to finish with the astonishing figures of five wickets for six runs and become the first bowler in Twenty20 internationals to reach the magical mark of 100 scalps.

His record-breaking spell came in the third match against New Zealand in Kandy, and it was a consolation victory as the visitors had already wrapped up the series by claiming the first two. Set a modest 126 for victory, New Zealand had no answer to the great Malinga, as he single-handedly bundled out the Kiwis for 88 in 16 overs.

Malinga, who played in the Global T20 League in King City in 2018 and in Brampton earlier this year, overtook the previous best T20 haul of 97 wickets that belonged to Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who also played here this year.

Malinga started his record spell by clean bowling Colin Munro, another GT20 ace, for his 100th wicket and then added Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme, and Ross Taylor.

This was Malinga’s second four-wicket haul. The first came in the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies against South Africa.

Meanwhile, 10 Sri Lanka players have dropped out of the squad to tour Pakistan later this year. They cited security concerns.